29 August 2007
A better day at work, if only a little. However, it did wrap up nicely. A batch of co-workers, as stressed as myself, and I went to Rob’s Billiards for some pool & beer. That’s always great fun, but this time was a bit special; my friend Joseph, down from Wisconsin for a useability seminar (or some such), joined us for beer. He didn’t play pool with us, but when we switched to shuffleboard, the man stepped right up. He and I knocked our competition for a right loop.
If you look closely, you can see both my camera and myself reflected in the weight.
Cheers.

~KR (29 August 2007)

Listening to:As Long As It Matters by Gin Blossoms
on Congratulations I’m Sorry

Take Two <clap> I am writing this post for the second time. WordPress seems to have swallowed my original post from this day with this photo and title. So, I will attempt to rewrite as many of my original words as possible. This is the first time I’ve ever had this happen, so I’m pretty confused and a might ticked. Here goes . . .

About three weeks ago, I bought myself this cute little striped canvas letter tray for my desk. With Artemis having free range of my living space, and me gone so much, I was worried about my papers gettng scattered and lost. So, I thought I’d keep my stuff contained and add something pretty to my life. I love it. But, so does Artemis.

In the days since I brought the silly thing home, I don’t think Artemis has spent much time sleeping anywhere else! She curls up in it to sleep; she sits in it and watches me; she even lays in it to take her baths! Now, I know that cats like to lay on top of piles of paper, and of course, they like boxes—why didn’t I see this coming? I have tried placing my phone or my camera in the box to discourage her from making herself at home in it, but all that means is that I have to dig the phone out from under the cat to make a call! The lumpiness doesn’t seem to deter her interest at all.

So, I’ve about decided I’ll have to share. I get stuff out of it or put stuff in the box when she’s up and about the room. And when she’s back in the box—I snap a photo or two!

(The other really good photo of her in the box doesn’t show off the box, but it came out great! It’s here at flickr, but unfortunately, I took that one, after I’d already posted this day’s entry to the Daily KRuMB.)

Early today I got some work done in the workshop and then reported for apprentice duty at the glass studio around 2 p.m. We flipped our day there, from the usual early morning, ’cause at the end of the workday at the studio, Ed arrived for his two-hour session he bought at auction to benefit RESCU. He requested a beautiful goblet and a clam-shell style bowl, both of which were different enough from the norm that they were fabulous learning experiences for me.

Midday, I did manage to burn a couple of fingers while holding up the lid of the leer. Nine hundred degrees is plenty hot enough to cook your digits! The rest of the day was a bit uncomfortable for those fingers, especially anywhere near the furnace! But some ice and a few hours later, I’m just fine. As long as I don’t get my hand too hot.

Not much danger of being hot here, tonight, though. My computer tells me it’s 55 degrees in Kenosha—it’s 62 in my living space. I think I’d better go brush my teeth before it gets any colder. That wash house always seems farther away when it’s cold or raining!

Wow! That was fun! We just spent about three hours at the glass studio helping Shannon while she had video footage shot for a promo dvd. It was odd—the timing was all weird—but after we got used to that, it was pretty cool. More shooting is scheduled for Sunday, and then the editing can begin! With any luck the project can be completed by midwinter so the dvd can play during gallery openings and such. I am very proud to have been a part of the project!

28 August 2007
Today is the day that everything went pear-shaped for me when it was instead supposed to be a lovely purple patch. The way it started and the way it progressed I figured I was in for a long day of living hell. It turns out that the pear-shape didn’t last too long and returned to normal in the early afternoon. A little hiccough in the evening, but everything played out ok in the end. But, because it had started so weird and rocky, I took a photo early and never really went back to revisit it. So, although it’s not terribly texturous, it is an interesting jumble.
Cheers.

Texture. Okay, I’ll try that! Kyle says texture is the photo assignment, so this is what I came up with today. This is a photo of the front door of my little living space. It’s a door that opens onto a tiny little balcony on the front of our booth, and I only really use it to water the plants I have out there. But, there’s this one interesting spot where the screen itself is irregular—it’s always bugged me.

I got a good bit of sewing done today, and this evening we moved the new serger into Paul and Laura’s basement. Yay! And Ginger was even able to set it up and make it all work! Yay! So, I guess that all worked out well. We played mah jong until after midnight, and that was great, too!

Now, it’s off to bed to be well-rested enough to play with molten glass tomorrow!

27 August 2007
Still working on the Texture assignment, sort of. So, that's what this photo is:
This is a bungee cord attached to the side of a large trailer that was completely full of trash. Refuse. Garbage. Rubbish. It was an amazing, if disgusting, sight to see. I suppose I should just be glad that all that trash was constrained by this sequence of bungee cords and grates rather than scattered about the ground.
Cheers.

26 August 2007
1-Nil to the Arsenal. A familar refrain to those of us who have followed the Gunners. Perhaps it’s a similar era with a new face on it. The Arsenal have changed crests, changed stadiums and, for the greater part, changed personnel. But the score remains the same.
Sunday’s game was against a much-changed Manchester City who made a great show of it at the Emirates. I was starting to bite my nails frantically as the time kept ticking away. But, remembering late, I grabbed an Arsenal strip and donned it. Minutes later Cesc thundered an unstoppable shot into the onion bag. Whether it helps or not who am I to say. But, three games I don a strip. Three games we win. I’m certainly not one to stare chance in the face and laugh at it. I’ll be wearing an Arsenal strip when we play Sparta mid-week, and I’ll throw one on for the weekend, too, for good measure. As long as the Arsenal keep winning, I’ll keep on calling the shirts lucky. Here’s this week’s lucky strip:
(I do not know what the green blob is in the lower right corner.)
This is the gold Arsenal away strip worn in 2001/2002. It was the last year that Arsenal used the old crest and that colour strip. I’m also realtively sure that Arsenal never lost a game in that strip. Maybe they should bring it back, wot?
This photo might just work for the "Texture" assignment, too.
Cheers.

~KR (26 August 2007)

Listening to:Sin Ella (Live) by Gipsy Kings
on The Very Best Of The Gipsy Kings – Volare – Cd 1

25 August 2007
Saturday. Saturday’s are made for football (recurring theme? Maybe!). So, up I got…early…to watch some quality footy on the telly. Then when the matches I cared about were done, so drove the 4 miles or so to No Frills Grill in Ft. Worth to meet some comrades for some downright American fun. It was time for the yearly Fantasy Football Draft…this time centered on the NFL, not the EPL. I’ve been playing in this FF league for about 6 years, but we’ve never had a Live Draft (since I joined). So, this was a first for me.
The draft was supposed to start at 2:15, but do to some technical gaffes, it got delayed to 5:30. What’s a boy to do? Right! We stayed at the bar. Some of us had drive an hour or more to be there, and who was I to abandon my friends?
That’s one of my friends. He’s plays under the name Texas Ranch Hands. I tried to capture the event with the camera. It didn’t work so well, but I kind of like this photo.
Truth to tell, I don’t really understand the appeal of American Football; it seems to be over-encumbered by laws of the game and game stoppages. But, there’s no denying it’s popularity and I do rather enjoy playing in the FF league. So, that was that: a full day of football, on two continents. Hooray, beer!
Cheers.

24 August 2007
The Pipe. Who knows what it’s ultimate purpose is, but it juts from the back-end of a Taco Bell and drips chronically.
Sadly, all the photos with the in-motion drip, or larger drip, were a little blurry. I was sitting in my vehicle after a long day at work; so between the cars vibration and my own natural jitters, the photos were less than stellar.
I pay attention to a variety of web-sites and blogs & forums dedicated to the art of photography. I also try to participate in their Assignments. There were three assignments this week that I looked at: Half, Texture & Unfinished. This photo sort of fits all three of those. Bully for me.
Cheers.

In ten summers of container gardening here at Bristol, I’ve never had such happy plants! I have pot after pot of plants that have prospered in this rainy season. It’s going to break my heart to have to leave them here to die when I go home next week. (Next week! Woo hoo!) If any of my local friends would like to dress up their patios for the next month or two until the first Wisconsin frost—please let me know! I’ll reclaim my pots next July!